Ear buds and Police Tape
by AAnitab
Summary: I didn't know I was going to be writing this universe.  Meghan and Peter claimed a weird set of songs, but did something fairly cool with it.  Committed ship ahead but fairly clean.


Title: Ear buds and Police Tape

Author: AnitaB

Author's notes: I didn't know I was going to be writing this universe when our power went out leaving us nothing to do but listen to our mp3 players… but when do I know I'm about to be writing anyone. Meghan and Peter claimed a weird set of songs, but did something fairly cool with it. Committed ship ahead but fairly clean.

Ear buds and Police Tape

By AnitaB

Can't fight the Moonlight, Meghan

One am was an unholy hour to be at work. Add in the full moon and a steep hill down into heavy undergrowth and Meghan was chanting aspersions on the killer even before she'd seen the body.

"Careful there." A strong hand wrapped around the one she reached out blindly. Even through two layers of latex she would recognize that hand. Not that the voice wasn't instantly known.

A least she wasn't the only one dragged out of bed for this body. Peter was even scruffier than usual as he led the way down the hillside towards the crime scene tape. "And why did we get this call, Peter? Did I do something to Kate that I forgot about?"

"Not that I know of but I'm still not getting in the middle. You cats are on your own." His other hand braced in the middle of her back for the step over a puddle, strong fingers tightening around her own. And no parethesia to steal the sensation. "Besides, I can hear Bud grumbling from here. You know we're just as much to keep them out of trouble as they are to keep you out of trouble."

The low chuckle in his voice caught her somewhere between annoyed and charmed. Then she made the mistake of looking up and charmed kicked annoyed's ass right back up the hill.

Meghan fought not to stare and thought she failed epically. She'd never seen Peter's smile in the moonlight before. She'd never seen Peter smile down at her with that light in his eyes, his arms holding her safe and close to his side, and the shadow of middle of the night stubble doing simply amazing things for his jaw.

Meghan wondered what that beginning of a beard would feel like under her fingers, what that curve of lips would feel like against hers. /Stop it, Dr. Hunt. Stop mooning over your partner… Literally.\\

Forcing her eyes back to the ground and her breath to her lips, Meghan hid. "You should know better, Peter. You're the one keeping us all out of trouble."

Now it was his laughter leading her down the hill. Maybe one am wasn't too bad after all.

000

She Loves me not, Peter

It was harder on some days. Days like today were the worse. And the best and the thing that kept him right here. This close. When he wanted closer and he could almost pretend to himself that she wanted him closer too. He goddamned loved that little spark in her eyes and that sweet little curve to her lips.

And Peter wanted to cross this ridiculously short space between them and see exactly what those beautiful smiles tasted like. He wanted to cup that stubborn, pointed little chin in his hands and watch those lips say his name like he'd dreamed they would.

But Peter Dunlop was not a stupid man by any definition. Crossing that particular line without her express invitation was a disaster in the making. He would either get everything he'd ever wanted… or be left with absolutely nothing, not even the friendship and partnership that made up his days.

/She doesn't love me.\\ He tested out the words in his head. Maybe if his heart believed him, he could turn this ache in his chest into contentment. Peter knew Meghan cared. She put up with his interference in her life, answered questions that anyone else would get only a slammed door and a fit. She called him for help and cared enough to interfere in his life. Dr. Meghan Hunt noticed and cared how he felt… it almost could be enough.

He should just keep everything he had of her now. It was so much more than he'd ever expected her to offer him on the day they'd met. He'd even gotten to dance with her in his arms and spent time with her daughter. /She doesn't love me, but she likes me. It has to be enough, because she won't give me more.\\

"So you're finally admitting that we have a thing?"

There. That, right there. That was the smile that made his hands itch to reach out for her. He could taste her at least once before he lost it all, before Meghan inevitably pushed him away. It was that exact light in her eyes that made him want her arms around him and his name on her lips. It was that little bit of hesitation that made him stay exactly where he was, just outside of heaven and hell. And it wasn't fair, but it was almost enough. "We've always had a thing."

/I wish we did, Meghan, I really do.\\

000

Kiss from a rose, Meghan.

Sometimes he made her forget. Forget the pain and numbness that had taken away her old life. Sometimes he dragged her out of the grey haze that wrapped her up since the first time her hands seized up in the OR. Since the moment she knew she had to give up neurosurgery and rewrite her entire life.

She knew the grey. It was familiar and almost safe in there. The worst had already happened so there was absolutely nothing to fear in there. And Peter was reeling her in closer, worming his way inside the haze that was both cage and shelter.

There was nothing she loved and hated more than the warmth of his hands holding hers when her paresthesia acted up. She fought so hard not to get used to the worry and heat in his face. Because… because someday he would leave her and then she'd have to get used to the cold again. Everyone left her. And though Peter Dunlop was different from the rest of the world in so many ways… Meghan couldn't believe he would stay, that he would want to.

Not even when she sometimes caught him looking at her with a little extra heat in his eyes. If they ever crossed that line it would only hurt more to lose him. So much more. To get the heat of his full attention… would be amazing, until it cooled. And then she'd freeze to death. When Peter finally left her, the cold pain that so often invaded her fingers would move throughout her entire body. And no one would be there to help her fight the chill.

The memory of this warmth wouldn't be enough. And the longer she let herself hide here in his arms, the harder it would be to remember that. But he wasn't about to let her go. Strong arms tightened the second she tried to step back. Warm fingers rubbed up the length of her back before curling around the back of neck in a gentle, but firm hold. "Meghan?"

Anything he was about to say, any words that were about to leave his lips would only make it closer to impossible to get herself safely out of his arms and back inside her safety zones. And nothing she could do from inside this impromptu and devastating hug would make him stop talking fast enough.

She put both tingling palms flat against his chest and shoved with all her strength. Stumbling backward on unsteady high heels when his grip broke. "Don't, Peter… I can't…" She couldn't help looking at him, wondering just how soon she was going to lose everything… just how soon she'd be buried in cold, grey haze. /Peter, please…\\

000

Savin' Me, Peter

He'd never seen her look so scared in his life. Peter had watched her literally hold a man's life in her hands, had watched the fear on her face as she operated on a kitchen floor with a pocket knife and a bottle of booze. But this moment was the one that put terror in her eyes. He was the thing that put fear in her eyes.

/Meghan,\\ Peter reached for her again, his muscles flinching in time with another sudden and unsteady step backward. He was her partner and her friend. He would never, ever hurt her. It clawed up something inside him to see her jerk away from him. "Meghan,"

"Peter, just … just don't. Okay?" Even as she took another step back, her eyes moved to his lips with a hint of want, need. He knew his Meghan, knew how strong and independent she needed to be. It made perfect sense that she was scared of needing him, needing anyone.

/I'm not going anywhere, Meghan. It's safe to want me. I'm yours.\\ Peter dropped his hands to his sides and followed her across the office. In only a few steps, the couch hit the backs of her knees. Peter automatically caught her hands in his own, balancing her collapse to the cushions before claiming the seat at her side. "I can't, Meghan, I can't just stop reaching for you." She was shaking and his arms knew exactly what to do. He pulled her close again, tucking his cheek against her hair and her body against his ribs. "I'm here, Meghan, I'm here and I'm not letting you go."

Her hands rested against his stomach before sliding tremblingly around to close in the fabric at the back of his shirt. Meghan was holding him. Peter fought for breath. "Why, Peter? Why would you stay?"

He needed her eyes, needed her to see his eyes. Her arms tightened sharply at his shift away. /That's my girl.\\ Peter cupped a hand along her jaw and helped her meet his gaze. She was still scared but she wasn't hiding from him. "I'm staying because I care about you, Meghan. I need you at my side. But I want you in my arms." He watched her teeth sink into her lip and helplessly soothed that curve of soft skin with a stroke of his thumb. A gasp of two sets of lungs came in time with a blush across her cheeks. "I'm here with you, Meghan. I'm not going anywhere."

/Please, Meghan, say it. Say something.\\ Her eyes met his with more heat and less fear. "I do need you, Peter, everyday." Her body relaxed in his arms, pressing closer against his chest. Her eyes flicked to his lips and Peter helplessly watched her draw the tip of her tongue over her lips. She was thinking about kissing him but she needed to say it before he could give her one. /Halfway there, sweetheart, give me just a little more.\\

"Good. But do you want me, Meghan? Do we stay just friends and partners or do we become something more?"

/Say it, Meghan. Please say it.\\ Her eyes closed and his heart stopped until they opened again. Now it was racing. Peter had never seen so much heat in her face. /Please, sweetheart, please say it.\\

"Yes, Peter, I do want you. I want us to be more."

Now he couldn't wait another second. There was no need. "Meghan," She was leaning up to meet him halfway and she was smiling as their lips met at last. So warm and sweet and finally his. Her arms curled around his neck, helping him get the perfect angle to deepen this kiss, letting him get lost in her taste and warmth.

/Finally.\\

000

Wishin' I was there, Natalie Imbruglia, Meghan

Sometimes she hated him. Okay, if she was being honest with herself, she only wished she hated him. Hatred was so much safer emotionally. Meghan loved Peter and she knew it. Worse, he knew it and worked damn hard to make sure she never forgot it. Every damn time he smiled at her, she went all melty and gooey inside. And Peter Damnit Dunlop made sure he smiled at her a couple dozen times a day.

Every single time he said her name, that damn man layered it in heat. The warmth always inched its way under her skin to wrap her in heat. Gorgeous, addictive heat.

And then there was the stroke of his hands. Peter knew exactly how and where to touch her to make her mindless and clinging. The simplest little touch of those rough fingertips over her skin and it was like he carried a giant magnet in his chest. And she was iron dust.

A kiss melted her into her shoes, puddling her around his feet, held upright only by the strength of his arms. And her need for more.

He made sure he kissed her as often as he could, stealing little moments on the way to crime scenes, before autopsies, in little corners of the office, and every single night before she fell asleep in his arms.

That gorgeous, sweet and strong man had deliberately and determinedly addicted her to him. And in the process made her stupid enough to believe she'd actually get to keep him.

The final nail in the coffin of her good sense and rationality was his words. Certain words in that deep, rough voice just shut down her cynicism cold. When Peter said he loved her, nothing existed in the entire world but the two of them. The universe shrank to the space of his arms around her and his heartbeat under her fingers.

It wasn't fair what he could do to her until she found out that did all those things to him. She watched his nerves melt at her smile. She felt him clutch her tighter at the simplest stroke of her hands. She knew he trembled at her kiss. And she adored his response every single time she told him she loved him.

Meghan knew Peter loved her just as completely as she loved him, that he was just as stupid for her as she was for him.

She was his world and he was hers. And it was an amazing damn world to live in with him.

So maybe she didn't wish she hated him.

000

I knew I loved you… Savage Garden, Peter

She'd beaten him to the newest scene. So Peter took a moment on the outside of the tape to watch her. That was his Meghan in there, fashionable and ruffling feathers everywhere she went. Even Bud rolled his eyes at her treatment of their only witness.

Peter smiled, remembering the first time he'd seen this powerful and unique woman in action. He'd been assigned to her with a wealth of warnings and cautions from others. There'd been a tone of apology to every voice who'd commented on his new partner Dr. Meghan Hunt.

He'd arrived at that first scene with a few butterflies. This woman could make his job better or worse with just her personality. Dr. Meghan Hunt had already caused no less than three investigators to quit or request a transfer.

His first sight of her had been… odd. That well-dressed, smiling woman was the source of all that concern and warning. He didn't believe it until he'd crossed that crime scene tape and introduced himself… well, he'd tried to introduce himself. Meghan had given him a twist of a smile that said in no uncertain terms that he hadn't earned her use of his name, that she expected him to bail before they'd finished a single case together. He knew that look. He'd worn that look for the anything from the first day to the first week at every single foster home. Most of them, he'd had that feeling for a hell of a lot longer.

She was somehow just like him. Despite being raised by her own biological and wealthy parents. Despite marriage, a daughter, and a career, Dr. Meghan Hunt was just waiting to be abandoned by everyone she met. Trust issues in garbage bags, just like he'd been as a teen in the foster system.

Peter decided in that moment to prove her wrong. He would be to her what his parents and sisters were to him. He was staying put long enough to hear her say his name, long enough for the smile to be warm with trust. He wasn't giving up on her like so many others. Peter Dunlop was going to be her partner… whether she liked it or not.

Slow and steady he'd worked his way to her side, to her trust and her need. He'd made her accept his place as her support and trained her to reach out for him.

And then it became so much more than that. They'd become friends and partners, a working and cohesive unit.

And now… now she was his friend, his partner and his lover. He got her arms around him, the sweet warmth of her kiss, trust in her eyes and her smile.

This Meghan slept peacefully in his arms, cried out his name in pleasure, and accepted him into her body and her heart.

"Peter," There was the trust and warmth in her eyes, her smile, her voice. His heart raced every time she called out to him just like that. He knew she was his, just like he was hers.

Crossing under the tape, he made his way to her side with a smile on his lips and a camera in gloved hands. "Hey partner, what have we got?"

000

Sweet Emotion, Aerosmith, Meghan

The image in the mirror was wavering gently. But it wasn't, Meghan told herself, because she was crying. Because she wasn't.

"Mom," She turned at Lacey's voice, almost dropping the bouquet in her hand. "You're not crying again, are you?"

"Of course I'm not, Lace. I told you I wouldn't." Meghan ran her free hand down her hip, pretending to smooth out nonexistent wrinkles. "I'm not crying." She was also blinking a little too fast and her daughter slash bridesmaid wasn't a dummy.

And Lacey was somehow giving her a very Peter-like 'you're being silly' smile. Maybe she was spending a little too much time with him. "Mom… you're not a good liar." Her daughter stepped up to her and caught her chin in satin gloved fingers. "Look up." A careful hand swiped under both her eyes with a hankie before reaching for the tube of mascara. "We don't have anything more water-proof than this one. So no more tears unless you want a little streaking down the aisle." Lacey shook her head with a smile, applying a careful brush of makeup. "I mean brides are supposed to be emotional, but this is your second time, mom."

"Nothing with Peter feels like I've ever done it before." The words were out before she'd even realized she had opened her mouth. Meghan knew she was smiling before the same joy curved her daughter's lips.

"Well, that's a good thing, I think. But a little more detail than I wanted, Mom." The girl standing before her wasn't quite 15. And realistically, no kid was ever really comfortable with their parents and sex in the same thought. Meghan found herself blushing like she was younger than her daughter. Peter was waiting for her at the altar. Tonight she was going to strip him out of the most gorgeous tux she'd ever seen and … well do all the things her daughter would gag a little to think about. He always made her melt with as little as a kiss, a look. And tonight he was going to be her husband. Meghan pulled herself out of her thoughts at the sound of Lacey laughing. "And I'm so glad I'm staying with Dad and Kate while you and Peter get the honey moon hormones under control a little."

"Lacey!"

"I'm young, not stupid or blind." Lacey put the cap back on the mascara and started tweaking the fall of her veil over her hair. "I've seen the way Peter looks at you and the way you look at him. The next two weeks or more at your place after you two get back are not going to be child friendly." Her amazing daughter laughed at her expression and gave a tight hug. "Don't get me wrong, mom. I'm so happy for you. And Peter's promised me a daddy-step-daughter shopping trip after the honey moon."

She opened her mouth, not sure at all about what to say to her daughter. Then lacey cut her off with a smile and a wave. "Let's get this show on the road. I'm gonna check on Peter and when I get back, it's go time." A glove appeared before her eyes in almost a scolding. "No crying, mom. You got me?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Now she sorta wanted to cry for a new mixture of emotions. Lacey was back in her life and closer than they'd ever been. Peter, the best friend she'd ever had was about to become her husband. And everyone who loved her was just outside to witness what was going to be one of the best days of her life. /How did I get so damn lucky to get even a little of this, let alone all of it.\\

"No crying, Meghan. Peter deserves a glowing bride, not a tear-streaked one."

It was time to go. Finally.

000

I didn't know I'd love you, RGO Peter

He was close, he had to be. Peter couldn't stand to think about what might happen if he didn't get there in time. He curled his fingers tighter around the butt of his gun, knocking a branch aside with his other arm. The terrain wasn't helping the pace, but he couldn't accept the delay if he fell along the way. /Almost there. I'm coming, sweetheart. Hold on for me.\\ His shoe skidded on the dead leaves and he barely kept his feet around the next corner.

"Peter!" The sound of his name managed to shout despite being almost as quiet as a whisper. He turned just in time and flung his arms open to catch her. Skinny arms curled around his neck as the teen buried herself against his chest. /You're safe, sweetheart, I've got you.\\

He wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair. "I've got you, Lacey. Are you okay, sweetheart?" He resisted the grip of her arms, trying to push her back enough to see her face. Lacey, just as stubborn as her mother, was having none of it. She dug nails into the back of his neck and buried her chin into his shoulder. If her grip was that strong, she must be okay. "You're safe, Lace. I've got you." Eventually the girl in his arms loosened her grip even a little. Lowering her to her feet, Peter kissed her forehead and tucked her hair back. "Are you hurt, honey? Let me see."

"I'm…" Her breathing hitched and she gave him a slightly water smile. "I'm fine, Peter. I'm okay now." Lacey leaned in close and gave him a hug, this one with a little less of a death grip. "Thank you, Peter, thank you for coming for me." Now it was his arms tightening. This girl should know by now that he was keeping her. He'd fallen hard for her the day she hugged him and flat out told him to marry her mother. He'd cared about her long before that. Lacey was his daughter now.

Peter cupped her face in one hand and made her meet his eyes. She was still teary, but he couldn't see a scratch on her. The expression didn't even hold pain or fear, just relief and a little embarrassment. The boy might get to live after all. "I love you, Lacey. I'm always going to be there if you need me. Always." The slight disbelief in her face called for another kiss on her forehead and one more hug. "Always, Lace. No matter what." Something in his back unwound when she relaxed into the hug. "And later tonight you're going to tell me which high school boy I need to visit with a patrol car, a badge, and a gun. Because you scared me half to death and that's coming out of somebody's hide."

When she laughed, the last of the panic he'd felt at her call faded. "Thanks, Dad. And I love you too, but it's not really Bobby's fault that I'm not okay with a date of beer and cigarettes in the back of his car. Or that I hurt his stomach with my fist when he argued with me about relationship pacing."

/That's my girl.\\ He shifted her under his arm and started back for his car with her tucked against his side. "So what you're really saying is that I should take Bud and Sam with me and we should actually arrest this Bobby guy in front of all his friends right after school."

She elbowed him in the ribs and laughed. "No, that's not what I'm saying at all. Besides, wouldn't Mom have to find out if I let you do that?"

"Oh, no, sweetheart. I'm not keeping this from your mother. So it's just going to be a choice which of us gives the boy a good talking to."

Lacey went carefully still under his arm. Her 'I'm thinking' posture was very much like Meghan's. "Mom's version would include autopsy photos, a scalpel, and gross body parts in bottles. If you promise not to actually arrest him, you can take any scary cop friends you want."

"I make no promises 'til we've talked to your mom. I haven't been your step-dad long enough to have the seniority to make that call. Besides, I don't know about you, but she's going to want a hug after we tell her why you're home early."

"If you were to take me out to dinner first, then we wouldn't be home early enough to make her wonder about it at all." There was a pleading note to Lacey's voice as he stopped at the passenger's side of the car. "I mean, Mom's at that coroners' dinner, right? So she's not going to know you're not where she thought you were." Little hands fisted in the edge of his jacket and suddenly Lacey seemed younger than her age by years. "Right?"

"Nice try, sweetie. We can go for ice-cream if you want, but we are still telling your mother about poor little Bobby." He ran his fingers through the edge of her hair, his wedding band glinting in the street lamp. "I'm not lying to your mom, and neither are you."

"Fine. Then I want ice-cream to take home. And we're picking up mom's favorite too."

"Works for me, Lace. Now get in the car."

"Yes, Dad."

/That's my girl.\\

000

Angel Sarah McLachlan, Meghan

She was close. The answer was here, so close she could almost feel the texture between her fingers. She just had to find it.

"You know…" Her eyes fell closed from the magic combination of his voice and his hands. Strong fingers seemed to know exactly where all the knots in her back were hiding. "The whole point of us leaving the office was to stop working on the case for a few hours."

He couldn't possibly expect her to speak when he was so effectively melting her into the heat of his palms. Peter Dunlop was smart enough to know better. Besides, he knew exactly what his hands could do to her by now. "Hmmm?"

A low chuckle brushed by her ear in time with the hard, precise circ le of both his thumbs into that perpetual ache caused by bending over papers or bodies. "You heard me, Meghan. And you know you'll figure the case out better after you've slept." Beard stubble and warm lips glanced the line of her shoulder before trailing up her throat to her ear. "Come to bed, Meghan. Let me hold you."

He was the embodiment of distraction. And he was always right. Peter, however, didn't need to know either of those facts just now. He would expect her to give in all the faster. Turning her head, Meghan brushed a soft kiss to his cheek. "Soon, honey, you go on ahead and I'll be there in a few more minutes."

"That's what you said when Lacey abandoned me to late night TV an hour ago." One finger caught her chin and tilted her head further for a proper kiss. Warm lips, agile tongue, and the rough tickle of stubble against her skin: Peter's kiss always melted her backbone into jelly. And the smile on his addictive lips when he pulled back said he knew it. Her arms had curled around his neck sometime during the kiss. Then his arm snuck under her knees and Meghan found herself clinging to him mid air. "You had a chance to be reasonable. Now I'm overriding you."

"Peter…" He cut her off with a kiss, leaving her breathless and without a thought in her head.

"Nope. I'm distracting you. It's your call if that's just sleeping in my arms or something more…" Strong fingers rubbed against her thigh as he smiled down at her. "Or something a little more active."

She didn't deserve him. She'd never in her life done anything worthy enough to be in his arms with that devilish little smile on her favorite set of lips. "I know it's late, but I'm not that tired yet." Meghan drew a fingertip along the muscles of his throat just for the tightening of his arms around her and the catch in his breathing.

"That's my good girl. Now give me a kiss."

If she was a good girl, then the man carrying her to bed was downright angelic. The strength of his grip braced her enough to lean up for the heavenly touch of his lips. "Hmm, Peter, get us behind closed doors before we scar my daughter for life."

"Yes, ma'am."

000

But I do love you, Peter

He shouldn't have listened to her. But anyone who had ever met his wife knew just how hard it was to keep saying no to her. Peter looked up at the moon peaking out of the cloud cover and wondered when the hell he'd lost his ability to say no to her. It must have been when she started giving him the 'please, honey' expression at the same time she rubbed her belly. /Damn her gorgeous eyes, got me wrapped right around her little finger and she knows it.\\

"Bud, what've we got?" He shook a little of the rain off his hair before stepping up to the crime scene tape across from the detective.

"A driving urge not to piss off the Prego by starting without her." The tall man craned his neck like Meghan was hiding somewhere between the tape and the car on the street. "So where is Dr. Hunt-Dunlop?"

He smiled. It was comforting to know he wasn't the only one wrapped so tightly around Meghan's fingers. "It's enough that one of us is missing the ultrasound, her doc refused to reschedule it again for, and I quote, another damn body." Peter ducked under the tape and glanced around. "Curtis should be meeting us here any minute. Seen him?"

"Nope. Fact, he called and said he wasn't coming. That Meghan was on her way, and I quote, not to put him in the middle again."

The sound of an engine behind him pulled Peter's eyes back to the road. There a quite pregnant Meghan Hunt-Dunlop was being helped out of the car by Ethan. "Damn it, Meghan…" He ducked back under the tape and stepped into her path five feet from the passenger door. "You're supposed to be at the doctor's still."

"So were you, but we got called to a crime scene. So…" She glanced around significantly and braced herself on the arm he held out automatically. "So here we are… at a crime scene, doing our jobs. Where is my body?"

Peter rolled his eyes and leaned in for a quick taste of those smiling lips, sliding his free arm around her thickened waist to guide her on her mid-height heels. "Did you at least finish the ultrasound before you cancelled yet another of our prenatal appointments?"

"Of course I did, Peter. Our copies of the pictures are in my purse and we have a follow up in a couple more weeks." Her arms curled around his neck and the curve of her belly pressed into his. He loved holding her like this, loved having two of his favorite girls in the world as close to his heart as he could get them. "And before you ask, everything's absolutely fine… with both of us." The warmth in her eyes made any other response more than impossible. Peter tucked her even closer to his body and claimed something more than a quick kiss. He needed more of her, he always needed more.

"Ahem?" Peter lifted his head at the sound of Bud's voice, momentarily lost in the sight of Meghan's smile and the sound of her soft laughter. "We have work to do if the two of you are done making out in the rain."

Meghan moved to step back and he stopped her with an arm around her waist. "We'll be right there, Bud. Just give us a minute."

"One minute and if you lose any clothes I am handcuffing you both for public indecency." Bud grumbled but headed off towards the body in the middle of the crime scene tape.

Peter turned back to the woman in his arms, who was looking up at him with a smile and a question in her eyes. "I just." Words failed him and then he knew just what he needed to say right now. "I love you, Meghan."

She melted into his arms, leaning up for a rain-flavored kiss that didn't last nearly long enough. "I love you too, Peter. You know that, right?" Her fingers stroked through his hair and he had to pull back or he'd have to kiss her again.

"I know it, sweetheart. Now, let's get to work so I can get you home and off your feet." He left one hand on the firm curve of her stomach, loving the kick of his baby girl into his palm. "It's past someone's bedtime."

"Oh, shut up, Peter."

"Yes, ma'am."

000

Can't fight the moonlight, Coyote Ugly, Meghan

She loves me not, Papa Roach, Peter

Kiss from a rose, Seal, Meghan

Savin' me, Nickelback, Peter

Wishin' I was there, Natalie Imbruglia, Meghan

I knew I loved you, Savage Garden, Peter

Sweet Emotions, Aerosmith, Meghan

I didn't know I'd love you, Repo the genetic opera Peter

Angel, Sara McLachlan, Meghan

But I do love you, Coyote Ugly, Peter


End file.
